Game buttons on an iPhone? Milkshake has that covered

THE BUSINESS: Milkshake Labs Inc. has developed a case called coco controller that fits around smartphones and provides all of the physical buttons necessary for what its co-founders call a “true gaming experience.” The physical buttons turn iPhone and Android phones into gaming consoles more akin to what people might use in their homes. The startup is also developing a larger gaming platform it says “will change mobile gaming for good.”

HOW IT MAKES MONEY: Milkshake Labs plans to get revenue by selling the cases, as well as by selling and recommending new games to buy. The co-founders said there are also other ideas for revenue with the controller as part of a larger gaming platform in the future.

BUSINESS/TECHNOLOGY IT COULD DISRUPT: The current gaming platforms, which are based on touch screens rather than physical controls and buttons. Milkshake Labs said its case unlocks a feeling of being fully immersed in the games, which will get users to spend and play more. They said it also will disrupt traditional living room gaming, allowing users to play their mobile games on TV screens.

MANAGEMENT TEAM: Co-founders Connor Zwick and Colton Gyulay both dropped out of Harvard University to pursue Milkshake Labs full-time. Zwick is a Thiel Fellow from the latest class of students who ditch their studies to do a startup. He was studying engineering and created Flashcards+, an app for Apple mobile devices that has had 2 million downloads. Gyulay was a computer science major.

MONEY BEING SOUGHT: $1 million.

PARTNERS: Milkshake Labs says it is partnering with studios on making games compatible with the coco controller, including Chillingo’s Air Mail and Gamelion Studios’ Monster Shooter.

MARKET POTENTIAL: Milkshake Labs projects the total potential market revenue for its controller is $9 billion on the hardware side and $2 billion on the software side.

POTENTIAL COMPETITORS: Milkshake Labs said it doesn’t have any competitors for what it does yet, and believes it has a significant first-mover advantage.